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Posts Tagged ‘Coffee Bloom’

Exactly two years ago, the crew of Coffee Bloom was doing their last minute prep in Coorg, to prepare for the shoot. Within me the moths in my stomach were ready to be butterflies soon, as it will probably the first time in my life I will be calling the words “Action” in front of a professional crew. Looking back, with a perspective of an outsider, I am really a nobody who had got this opportunity to make a feature film, thanks to Harish Amin and Sharath Parvathavani. It feels too good to be true that an outsider without any experience of making films or assisting anyone, besides few DIY short films, managed to be on that shoot calling action. Thanks to an incredible team who gave me a fair chance and believed in the script we wrote. Over the next two years with many passionate creative arguments and reworks, Coffee Bloom gradually assembled itself part by part, thanks to a producer, who unconditionally continued pumping money into it believing in the film. We all knew as a team, it wasn’t perfect, there were issues we were all aware, but with whatever resources we had given it all and the film that was ready to go out. We had done our best with whatever we could do.

The MAMI screening gave us a lot of encouragement, but the beast called Distribution was sleeping on our path. When things had hit a lull, Shiladitya Bora, one day sends me an SMS saying, he wants to see the film. The next thing I know within weeks we were getting a release, Shiladitya along with Harish Amin, was on ground tackling the beast and clearing the path for us to move. Is it for real? I am probably living a dream, and the dream had goodies, it included US and Canada release. Very soon, the PR and marketing activity started, giving back to back interviews, cluelessly posing in front of flashbulbs to screwing up the first media interaction fumbling for words. Seeing your own name on the hoardings, makes up for the all the silly little struggles, that every film maker complains of. All this while, I kept pinching myself, it’s a dream ok no maybe it’s real, regardless enjoy the ride dude. The committed cast (Arjun, Sugandha, Mohan and Ishwari) and crew members, pull all stops to make a premiere happen and before you know, it is the morning of March 6th. So far the flight was fine, but rough weather and turbulence is part of every journey.

The reviews started pouring in, for your first film to be called Awfully pretentious, self indulgent, “Shouldn’t have been funded”, to some glowing reviews from the best critics who saw merit in the film calling it “well acted drama”, poetry in motion, “complex relationship film that couldn’t have been smoother”,” with an arresting soul” and comparison to Ray etc. it was emotionally overwhelming from where I come from. They say you have to be thick skinned, I admit my skin needs to get thicker, cause this emotional roller coaster has changed a part of me forever. I sincerely hope it never affects my writing or film making. Many comments and feedback were genuine, many people called personally to tell me, a part of them had connected with the film and they were not able to shake off the experience. Every time I see any merit in the criticisms, be it good or bad, a part of me wishes I want to relive these two years of my life and rework things. I always regretted I couldn’t go to film school, I still do have plan to go in future, but Coffee Bloom has been the best film school, I have experiences and lessons for life. To all my family, friends and fraternity, it happened because all of you gave the film a fair chance and I am again and again forced to repeat the most cliche words sincerely, cause there is no better way to say it “Thank you from the bottom of my heart” for helping me get the buzz out there to taking the effort to making it to theaters and personally sending your feedback and love.

Every morning is a high, to know the film you worked on is playing in theaters. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Life is never fair and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not”, the dream may soon end, by Thursday,economics will decide the fate of the film. It may or may not cross the Thursday bridge, the number of shows might go down, life is unfair, it’s probably a secret message from the universe, “do better dude”, internalise the lessons of Coffee Bloom, the weapons for the next battle is already being polished with this message. To those who haven’t caught the film, I am hoping you will give me the privilege of your time and a part of you over the next three days cause the ride will soon end. Thanks in advance smile emoticon

Humbled, Sincere Love and Thanks to all who were closely and remotely part of this journey (Yes, this moment I am living “now” is bigger than any award in this world.)

After having its premiere at the last edition of Mumbai Film Festival, Manu Warrier’s indie feature Coffee Bloom is all set to hit the screens on 6th March, 2015.

Directed by Manu and produced by Harish Amin, the film will now be receiving a major international release as it releases simultaneously in India, USA and Toronto.

Here’s the official synopsis of the film –

Coffee Bloom’ is the story of Dev Anand (Arjun Mathur), who is a self proclaimed wise man and has given up on life as a result of a love gone wrong. A life changing event takes him on a journey to a coffee plantation. There he meets Anika (Sugandha Ram), his long lost love, currently his boss. Love blooms in an idyllic setting, bringing Dev out of his self imposed funk and Dev finds a new reason to live. Coffee Bloom also stars veteran actor Mohan Kapoor and Bengali actress Ishwari Bose in supporting roles.

So we read this piece on Quartz India – “A Bollywood-backed Twitter campaign saved the Mumbai Film Festival—but crushed its spirit”. Friends told us it’s a well respected website. Yet to figure out why. (Not that we trust Columbia Journalism grads on desi film industry, most of the times they have no clue about bollywood or indie-bhindies) As we were joking about it, we thought let’s not respond to it till the closing ceremony. Aamir, Madhuri, Anushka, Parineeti, Esha…OMG! So many stars at MAMI! We have never seen them before at Mumbai Film Festival. They killed the indie spirit and how. Look at the winners. Bollywood must not have heard about these filmmakers and they crushed them by giving them awards – Avinash Arun (Killa), Bikash Mishra (Chauranga) and Chaitanya Tamhane (Court). And these 3 films bagged top 6 awards in International Competition and India Gold section. Interestingly, all three are based in Mumbai. City’s fest, city’s filmmakers, what an achievement! MAMI never had a better year than this. If only some people knew what they are writing about.

Killa

Moving on, here’s our day wrap of last 2 days

’71

A Soldier is abandoned accidentally by his unit in the middle of a riot in Belfast. I must confess I was at loss quite a few times thanks to the heavy North Irish accent, but this edge of the seat thriller-drama has enough moments to keep you hooked on. The riot sequence and the chase alone itself is worth the watch. Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Look and feel – all top notch in this gritty film. One can feel the pain of the wound being stitched, the weight of the stone being thrown and the deafening screech after an unexpected bomb blast. Watch it.

Court

This film deserves every accolade it has got abroad. Minimal with pitch perfect detailing, long takes & wide shots, performances that seem natural and unrehearsed, a dab of social & political commentary every now and then, and a realistic depiction of a Kafkaesque trial – it at times ceases to be a film and seems like life unfolding in front of your eyes. Easily one of the top films at MFF this year. Do not miss this for anything.

This is as unpretentious and straightforward a film can be. And that’s where lies its joy. A young Jordanian boy is left alone to fend for himself in bandit territory with the bandit that killed his brother. The bandit becomes his protector and the boy needs him to reach safety. Its not the barren terrain alone, a terrain from whose womb few films emerge but an entire world that opens up to us simply by the choices the characters make in this film. If you like films as an observer and seeker of experience, then this is well worth it.

Clouds of Sils Maria

Literary world threatens to envelope the real and the real world reflects the literary one, shadowing each other as the film explores the nature of time and age. Oblique with a lot of subtext, Clouds of Sils Maria is a meta referential guide to an aging actor’s work and life experience as we explore her inner world and art through her explorations of the character she is playing. Absorbing and visually beautiful, the end is mystifying but Juliette Binoche’s glorious performance makes it more than worth the watch even as a the point in its entirety maybe subject to subjective audience interpretation or simply lost. Almost meta referential of tha film again!

Mission Rape – A Tool Of War (Documentary)

Disturbing even at its short length of an hour. The documentary talks about the mass rapes that were used to perpetrate horror in Bosnia-Herzegovinian conflict during the early nineties. Victims and their families fighting for justice speak their stories and how justice has been denied to them. A stark image of the hegemony of patriarchy and the politics of war stares in front of us as we despair at the continuing inhumanity of the world. There is no attempt to dramatise events or manipulate the audience, facts are laid out bare and footage used matter-of-factly. Its short and not as incisive or comprehensive as it could be, but its honest and dignified, and therein lies its worth.

Girlhood

Is it me or was there a major number of women-centric films this year at MAMI?In any case, its a cause for celebration and I did with Girlhood. In fact, what better film than that! Its a journey of an African teenage girl, bred and brought up in a steeply patriarchal culture finding her independence. Not only the thrift of storytelling and the simplicity of narration but the wealth of detailing makes this not only an important coming-of-age film, but a feminist film. Blue as the primary colour in the scheme, girls finding their freedom in acting like boys, the need for male approval, the male gaze and so on and on, the script explores each one of these very important aspects of influence in the shaping of a girl into a woman. A must watch!

Coffee Bloom

An interesting film about coming to terms with the past…Set in lush Coorg that is filmed with a lot of love, it is a the story of Dev, a troubled young man who is trying hard to gather his life torn apart by loss of his childhood home and his love. Love, loss, betrayal with spirituality on the fringes are some of the themes that inform the plot-driven narrative with able support from the lead actors. The screenplay is tight and engaging, the unfolding or rather undoing of the characters and their coming together quite convincing. A minor grouse, however, were the dialogues or maybe it was the way some of them were delivered, that sounded quite banal. An assured debut.

Demons

An adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel by the same name, it is an ambitious film that tries hard to embody all of Dostoevsky’s ideas questioning nihilism, utopianism, spirituality and the human condition. Unfortunately, it fails to portray the complexity of these ideas, leave alone present a picture of 19th century Russia in all its multifarious-ness. The narrative is non-linear, something that adds a complex physicality to the film but does not supply the necessary depth or breadth, leave alone create any darkness in mood. Demons is supposed to be an intense literary work, both exploring the interiority of its characters as possessed by an inexplicable evil that is part of human belief system as well as the social conditions of Russia and its politics of the time. The film, despite its three hour long running time does little justice to the dark world of Dostoevsky or the zeitgeist of Russia, confusing hyperventilating for intensity and substituting CG work for surrealism.

In the 15th century, a deadly tradition began in the Balkans, which were then under Turkish rule. Krvna Osveta is still practiced in Albania today. But that is not the story of The Tree, though it does flutter in the backdrop. Instead, in three sections, we see captivity (or, as the director prefers to say, “entrapment”) of three kinds. The story is also about power; about struggling against power; about the various shades of power — personal, political, emotional and familial. Intimately shot and powerfully acted against a spare landscape in three main colours, this film will enter your mind and haunt you endlessly.

Slovenia makes only five to ten films a year — and the director, Sonja Prosenc, who graced the screening, informed us that two of the three remarkable leads were amateurs. In such a spare landscape, it is even more remarkable when a director makes such a stunning debut.

The Big Journey

Perhaps the best movies about journeys are those that are not about the journey at all. A devout, French Muslim coaxes his reluctant son to drive him all the way to Mecca — a taxing route spanning 3000 miles. But there are no sights on the way, even though the son would like to stop for some of them. Instead, we enter the minds of the protagonists and travel through their maze of differences — due to a significant distance in their ages; due to their belonging to different times; due to their having different beliefs about religion, and right and wrong.

Their clashes are the age-old clashes of the conservative and the modern; the devout and the casual believer; the old and the young. There are some regular road movie tropes thrown in — such as trouble at customs; thieves and strange companions on the journey. But there is also some great detailing — especially in the last part where we meet travelling Arabs going to Mecca, replete with their customs, their prayers, their caravans.

As the father and son travel farther away from home, The Big Journey becomes all about bridging the distance between two minds and hearts.

Theeb

Are we a product of our environment? Or do we shape it? Theeb suggests the former. After all, who can shape the mighty desert? In Arabia in 1916, we see the cruel, unforgiving, death-giving desert produce children who see, and accept, cruelty as a routine ingredient of their lives. Of course, accepting cruelty with such equanimity requires fearlessness as well. And we see all of this in both Theebs — the protagonist, and the movie.

Mesmerisingly shot entirely on location against the ravishing landscape of Wadi Rum and Wadi Araba, and cast with non-professional actors from one of the last of Jordan’s nomadic Bedouin tribes to settle down, Theeb is often disturbing — for its hyper-realistic depiction of life in the desert, the desperation it induces, and the everyday violence accepted by the tribes. Often the movie crawls, just like the days in the desert, and it becomes difficult to watch on. But life is never easy; why should such a marvellous movie be?

Extremely real situations (too close to reality for people who keep tabs on what’s happening), real people and performances. In fact, a lot of people in the cast are not professional actors but they seem natural in front of the camera. Film unfolds mostly in a courtroom where a man (a Shahir) stands accused of abetting suicide of another man. Clearly it’s just an excuse by the state to put him behind bars. While the starting point of the film seem to be inspired from real events, it aims to take a broader view of the society and its functioning as well as its relationship with the state and its institutions by going into the lives of each of the main players.

I have to say I wasn’t terribly impressed by this, given the hype. Powered by a cool ‘vampire-in-a-veil’ conceit and hip soundtrack, it’s fun but doesn’t do anything very interesting thematically or in terms of storytelling, especially given the vast potential of its premise. Instead, it feels disappointingly content in just being an exercise in posturing and Sin-City style B&W visuals instead of being genuinely groundbreaking or revelatory. (Perhaps Tomas Alfredson and John Ajvide Lindqvist set the bar way too high a couple of years back.)

Clouds Of Sils Maria

Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart play off each other brilliantly in Clouds Of Sils Maria, Oliver Assayas’ sharp, brutally funny and super-meta movie with a heart of melancholy. The compelling dynamic and amazing chemistry between the actresses alone makes this a must-watch, even as all the nudging and winking occasionally gets a tad overbearing. The film is too diffuse to be devastating (or a modern companion-classic to Sunset Boulevard) but Clouds of Sils Maria is always compelling, and when Binoche bares her soul with such blazing poise and elegance, it’s hard not to be floored.

Manu Warrier’s debut feature Coffee Bloom is having its India premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival 2014 in the ‘New Faces of Indian Cinema’ section. Coffee Bloom stars Arjun Mathur, Sugandha Garg and Mohan Kapoor among others. We have the debut trailer for the film right here, take a look:

Here is the synopsis of the film, along with information on the cast and crew:

SYNOPSIS:

Dev sells his family coffee estate as a statement underlining his renunciation of the world. When his mother dies heartbroken, he vows to prove worthy of her before scattering her ashes, little realizing that that involves confronting the world he shunned and his turbulent past.